Search and Rescue
by Melodi Rae
Summary: Callen and the team breach a warehouse full of arms dealers, but not all goes as planned, especially for the team leader.
1. Chapter 1

Search and Rescue

Callen and the team breach a warehouse full of arms dealers, but not all goes as planned, especially for the team leader.

The NCIS team approached a small warehouse along the harborside. All four agents had their guns drawn and were ready to infiltrate.

Hetty and Nell were seated next to Eric in the ops center looking through the warehouse blue prints for any other potential entry points besides those Callen had already identified.

Eric's voice sounded through their comms system. "Narek Petrossian is a known Armenian arms dealer who until yesterday, hadn't been in the US for fifteen years. He fled in 2003 right after he stole a full shipment of automatic weapons from a storage facility in San Francisco. The guns he stole and sold have been traced to weapons used in killings all through Southern Africa. Today, he's planning on doing the same thing in LA and has no plans of ever returning to the States. Our satellite reads pinned him to this warehouse."

Callen nodded in confirmation and looked at his team. "Stealth mode entry, silent take downs and when someone gets eyes on Narek, no kill shots, just inform through comms. We need him alive so he can tell us the location of the shipment."

Deeks, Kensi, and Sam nodded in understanding. "Okay then, let's get this guy." The team leader concluded.

The four agents quickly crouched down and crept across the boarded dock towards the target building. Once they reached the structure they all leaned against the outside wall and kneeled awaiting further commands for infiltration.

"I'll take the back entrance, Deeks and Kens through the front, Sam take the window on the side." Callen directed briefly. The foursome swiftly split as Callen rounded to the back of the building, Sam following close behind.

Kensi and Deeks did not have far to move and were already at the front awaiting their team leader's count to move in. Kensi checked the door and found that it was unlocked.

"Set." Deeks spoke through comms to let Callen know they were ready to move in.

Sam followed his friend around the side of the building and located the window Callen had referred to. He placed his hands along the glass and tried to push it open but the window didn't budge. Sam turned to look at his partner who was glancing around the next corner and then saw him quickly disappear to the back of the building.

Sam turned his attention back to his entry point and brushed the bottom of the window. He found a rusted clip that he hooked his index finger around. With some force, he pulled at the lock and heard the clip detach. The senior agent placed his fingers against the glass again and gave it a quick shove, this time, successfully jarring the window open an inch.

"Set." Sam voiced.

Hetty, Eric, and Nell listened on in anticipation, awaiting Callen's order to move in. They had no eyes on this op, only audio. They heard the faint noise of soft breaths coming from each of their prized agents and friends, but nothing else.

Callen aimed his gun at the back door he had just located. He placed his hand on the knob and twisted it to find the handle locked. The senior agent quickly swung his weapon to his back and knelt to the ground reaching in his rear pocket for his kit to unlock the door. G expertly tinkered with the door until he heard the latch click as it released.

The team leader closed the kit and reached his arm behind him to slide the small box into his pocket again. The agent's eyes were still down but as he turned his head back towards the entryway, the door suddenly flew open. Callen felt the impact of the metal frame slam against the crown of his nose which knocked his whole body backwards. The door had made contact with his knee as well and the agent grunted in pain and surprise as he reached for his bleeding face.

"Callen, status." Sam urgently requested after hearing a sudden loud bang and pained grunt come from who he thought had been his friend. He had no idea what had just happened.

A tall bearded man blew through the open door and jumped onto Callen's sidelying body. G struggled to flip onto his back to achieve a better defensive position but the man roughly worked to flip the agent to his front. Callen groaned again once he was pinned prone to the dock boards.

"Cops! Let's go!" A voice shouted from inside the warehouse.

"G! Report!" Sam voiced again, desperate to know the status of his partner.

"Execute!" Callen's strained voice ordered through comms. He then knocked his head backwards colliding it with the man on top of him and luckily knocked the perp off balance. The agent scrambled to his feet and pulled the gun from his thigh holster out with expert speed aiming it straight at the man who surely had just broken his nose.

Sam pushed the window open and stepped through the small opening into the warehouse. He saw two men hastily gathering equipment in the room he'd just entered and aimed his weapon at them. Both men turned and reached for their guns at their sides but Sam was faster. The agent clipped each of them in the leg causing them to drop like bricks to the floor in pain. He moved to zip tie their hands together and continued his sweep through the warehouse.

Kensi and Deeks had entered through the front and were attempting to secure the large open area in the center of the building.

"Let me see your hands." Callen grumbled. Blood was flowing freely down one side of his nose. He blinked his eye rapidly trying to get his vision to clear but his hands stayed skillfully still.

Sam continued his sweep but Callen's pained voice echoed in the back of his mind. He needed to get to his partner but he knew he had to secure the building first. Callen could hold his own anyway.

As Sam moved his way into the open center of the warehouse, he saw Kensi and Deeks securing two perps on the ground. He then caught movement to his right. "Hey, stop! Federal agent, put your hands up!"

Sam saw three men running towards the back of the building and took off after them.

"G, at least three heading your way." Sam warned. "I'm in pursuit." He added, hoping his friend was ready.

Callen heard Sam's warning and kept his gun trained at the bearded man in front of him. He had to move fast. "Show me your hands!" The agent demanded again, rage in his voice.

The tall man started to move his hands up when a grin spread across his face. "Okay." He answered.

Callen was suddenly tackled from behind and hit the deck hard on his front. "Jesus, you're all just a bunch of fricken line backers." He mumbled. The agent didn't lose his grip on his gun and tried to buck the man off his back. However, the larger arms dealer wasted no time and slammed the butt of his gun down onto Callen's pinned forearm causing the bones beneath to snap upon impact. G let out a surprised yelp as the man grabbed the agent's gun and removed his weight from Callen's back.

"Get up." He stated but Callen was already bustling to his feet. He was alert with his adrenaline spiking as he spun around to figure out his next possible move, his dominant hand now out of commission.

Three men then burst through the door followed by Sam who had his gun aimed at one of them. He made off two shots dropping one of the perps to the ground, lifeless. "NCIS, put your hands up!" He yelled to the rest.

Sam looked over at his partner who had his left hand up in the air, his right was angled oddly down in front of his body. He also saw the blood dripping down his friend's face from a cut originating from the bridge of his nose.

Callen looked over at the man who had tackled him and quickly knew who he was. "Narek Petrossian. We've been looking for you for a long time." The team leader voiced, pain evident in his tone. Narek had his gun aimed at Callen's chest, his face was calm and unreadable.

Sam had his gun trained on Narek. "Put the gun down, it's over." Sam ordered.

The rest of the men around Narek had their guns aimed at either Sam or Callen.

"Lower your weapon to the ground or I will shoot him right now." Narek stated coldly to Sam. The agent looked at the Armenian and could tell he was ready to shoot his partner.

"Alright, alright." Sam caved. He knew Kensi and Deeks were moments from breaking through the door and could hear every word being said. They'd come through, he just hoped it would be right this moment. Sam slowly lowered his weapon to the ground, placed it there, and straightened his back out with his arms by his ears. "Just go." Sam urged.

"Good man." The Armenian stated and then without hesitation, pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit Callen in the shoulder which knocked him off balance. G clamped his hand over the agonizing pain that was suddenly pulsing through his entire right arm, taking a step back to recover his balance. However, his foot stepped over the edge of the dock and his body consequently slammed through the wood rail as he fell off the platform and into the cold water below.

 **TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

_G clamped his hand over the agonizing pain that was suddenly pulsing through his entire right arm, taking a step back to recover his balance. However, his foot stepped over the edge of the dock and his body consequently slammed through the wood rail as he fell off the platform and into the cold water below._

"G!" Sam yelled helplessly as he placed both hands on the rail, ready to jump in and assist his injured friend.

"Leave him!" The arms dealer threatened as he turned his weapon on Sam. The agent slowly spun around and put his hands up but his face was dangerously manic.

"10-3-3, someone get Callen out of the water." Sam whispered desperately into his communication set.

Hetty dropped her head in dismay.

"What did you say?" Narek warned, moving closer to Sam.

"On it." Kensi replied.

"I said, I'm going to kill you." The agent answered, hatred in his tone.

"10-3-3, shots fired, federal agent down, we need back up and EMS to the docks along Harbor Street in Marina Del Rey." Eric voiced to the operator up in ops. The tech agent turned his gaze to Nell who had a look of worry strewn across her face.

Sam stood with his hands up, straining his ears to hear even a splash come from his partner below. He needed something, any kind of sign to know his friend wasn't dead in the water at that moment.

"I see him." Sam heard Deeks announce.

"We're leaving, let's go!" Narek declared as he rallied his troops. The group began jogging down the dock side towards the street as the leader turned his head away from Sam. Another Armenian trained his weapon on the agent in place of Narek's.

Narek took one more glance behind him and then flicked his hand in the air. "Kill him." He ordered.

Sam wasted no time. He took one step towards the broken rail, placed his hands on the wood, and jumped, feet first, off the docks before the arms dealer could finish taking aim. He flew through the air and then crashed into the frigid water below.

As soon as he heard the shot go off, Deeks was ready to blast through the door, horrified that one of his senior agents had just been killed. A moment before he kicked the back door in, he heard Sam's message mumbled through comms.

Kensi gripped Deeks by the shoulder and shook her head to stop his assault. "On it." She responded and looked into her partner's eyes. "Go, I've got Sam." She whispered.

Deeks ran off towards the front of the warehouse and out into the sun lit harbor. Once he had the ocean in his sights, he immediately saw Sam with his hands raised up on the pier. Deeks trailed his eyes down from the clearly broken apart rail behind Sam and saw the disturbed water where Callen must have just landed. "I see him." He voiced into comms. The junior agent picked up his pace and ran towards the edge of the dock where he quickly dove in.

The water was frigidly cold but Deeks pushed the sensation away as soon as he saw his superior's head break through the surface of the water. He swam as fast as he could and called out to his friend.

"Callen! Callen, hang on, I got you..." He spoke as he grabbed at G's left arm which effectively pulled the agent's head fully from the water. Callen let out a cry of pain and scrunched his face in agony from the jerking motion Deeks' hold had just caused.

Deeks suddenly looked up to see Sam plunging down into the sea about five feet behind him and Callen. The impact of the water splashed water into both of their faces but Deeks didn't loosen his grip on his team leader.

Callen's entire right shoulder was submerged below the water's surface, he treaded using his left arm only and worked to keep his head above the water.

"G." Sam frantically swam towards his partner and reached for his friend's shirt and vest, yanking him upwards. Callen's head lolled limply backwards as he was lifted and then his chin landed awkwardly against the front of his chest. Deeks still had one elbow hooked under the agent's left shoulder and could see Callen's face was bleeding.

"Where's he hit?" Deeks asked Sam as the two of them struggled to keep G afloat.

"Shoulder. Head to the dock." The eldest answered and ordered quickly.

"Shit." Callen muttered painfully as his two teammates continued manhandling him to keep him from drowning.

Just then, bullets started firing from a single Armenian's firearm at the trio in the water.

"Move! Move!" Sam shouted. The NCIS agents switched directions and swam as fast as they could towards the underside of the dock to find cover, pulling a struggling Callen with them.

The bullets kept flying but neither Sam nor Deeks slowed their movements until they were safely under the wooded pier. All three agents were huffing for breath but the shots finally stopped as soon as they reached the shadows of the dock.

Callen suddenly slumped forward which triggered Sam to dip his arm underneath G's front and wrap it across his friend's chest, pulling his face and shoulders up out of the water. "Woah no, no. Head up, head up G." Sam urged, fearing his friend was losing consciousness.

"Pull him back Deeks." The senior agent ordered, not able to find a good hold on G's body.

Deeks quickly leaned his back against one of the support beams under the dock and pulled Callen up onto his chest. The team leader allowed his friends to jostle him until he was positioned on top of Deeks' body. He was too tired to protest anyway.

"Is he out?" Deeks asked Sam, panting from the effort it was taking him to keep himself, and Callen, above the water's surface.

Sam shook his head before he answered. "No, just gassed, right buddy?" Sam clapped his hand twice on G's chest in order to rouse him.

Callen tipped his head back, resting it against Deeks' shoulder and opened his eyes.

"This sucks." He muttered. The agent didn't dare move his arm which was hanging limply under the water. His right forearm was pulsing painfully while his shoulder was an unbearable sting, the effects of the salt water on his bullet wound he imagined.

Deeks panted as he spoke into comms. "Kens, can you hear us?"

There was a delay in response but Kensi's voice broke through the silence under the dock and answered. "Yeah I can here you, I can't find you guys though."

G felt his legs sinking once he started to relax and kicked them in response to stay afloat.

"Just chill, I've got your body weight." Deeks voiced into his team leader's ear.

"We're under the dock, we're pinned down, suspect on the pier." Sam breathlessly informed his teammate.

"I'm freezing." Callen chattered out between his shaking lips.

"I know. How's your shoulder, are you gonna pass out?" Sam got straight to business, already moving towards G's arm. He could see the ring of red Callen's blood was making across the water's surface, evidence his friend was in bad shape.

"No." G stubbornly answered. Callen then felt his body sinking again and reflexively activated his limbs to start treading water. However, he instinctively moved his right shoulder and forearm which ripped a shout from G's throat.

"Ugh! My arm…" He cried out. Callen curled in on himself and gently rested his left hand on his right elbow.

"It's alright man, you'll be okay." Sam tried to comfort his agonized partner as he lifted him up again. The weight of all their metal vests and clothes was making the task of treading water even harder.

Callen felt his body dip down again before Deeks kicked his legs to push them both towards the surface of the water, but G's panic was getting the best of him.

"Alright, bath time's over." Callen declared between chattering teeth. He wanted out, now.

"We're just waiting on Kensi's 'all-clear'." Deeks explained, re-adjusting his hold on Callen's body. "Then we're outta here." He finished.

"Hey, I'm up by the pier, no sign of anyone, I can't see you guys either." Kensi suddenly voiced through comms.

"Let's go." Sam stated. Deeks leaned his body back away from the support beam he was resting against and kept Callen near his chest. He hooked his left arm around Callen's left elbow and started to swim towards the shore, Sam keeping his hold on Callen's vest.

The team leader let himself be dragged until, finally, he felt his hip brush against the rocky surface of the ocean floor. He kicked at the sand and tried to help his teammates heave his own body from the water until they were all seated on the sandy beach, gasping for breath.

"Is Callen okay?" Kensi questioned breathlessly through comms. She took off running towards her teammates as soon as she saw them emerge from beneath the dock dragging the team leader along with them.

"I'm good Kens, where's Narek?" Callen answered, trying to block out the pain he was so obviously feeling. The senior agent had his right arm pinned tightly against his chest with his wrist cradled within his left hand.

"Damn, that looks bad." Deeks voiced as soon as he saw Callen's warped forearm.

The senior agent glanced up and nodded his head tiredly. "I'm gonna kill that guy." He proclaimed wearily. Blood was flowing freely down Callen's right arm and soaked his forearm and hand with a red tinge.

The sound of screeching tires filled the dead air with noise along with the distant whine of sirens.

"EMS is on location." Eric informed the NCIS team. "Back up's a minute out."

The squealing tires became louder until a black van appeared on the street, followed by rapid gunshots aimed straight at the trio on the beach.

Deeks and Sam scrambled towards the dock while Callen balled himself in over his wounded right arm, sliding backwards away from the gunfire. Sam turned to reach for his partner but the gunshots separated him from his friend and forced him to retreat with Deeks.

"G! move it!" Sam called out fearing for his friend's vulnerable position and beckoning him towards his outstretched hand.

Deeks slipped his gun out from his holster and began returning fire to give Sam and Callen some cover to retreat.

The gunfire continued however while three Armenians jumped out of the sliding door of the van, guns blazing.

The three armed men started firing at the beach and Deeks took cover behind one of the wood beams under the dock. Sam flipped behind a rock and began firing at the men, trying to cover his wounded and unarmed friend.

Two Armenians approached Callen who was the closest to the van out of the three NCIS agents and aimed his gun down at the agent's head. G could do nothing but continue his backward shuffle across the sand, staring the barrel of the gun down.

Sam's stomach dropped. "Don't touch him!" He shouted angrily.

Right before he pulled the trigger, the other arms dealer clapped his hand on his shoulder.

"No, Narek said collateral, grab him and go!"

 _Nope._ Callen thought and he swung his leg out connecting it with one of the men's ankles. The arms dealer dropped to the ground, angered, just as Sam found an opening and shot at one of the men standing.

The Armenian dropped lifeless to the ground next to Callen's legs. The remaining perps started firing back at Sam forcing him to duck for cover.

"We need back up _now_. They're trying to take Callen." Sam stated in frustration and panic.

Callen had flipped onto his front and was making his way to standing when he was roughly tackled to the beach. Pain exploded through his arm but he continued his struggles anyway.

The man on top of Callen roughly flipped him to his back as he stood and started to drag him towards the open van. The other Armenian helped his colleague in dragging a fighting G across the beach until they reached the van doors.

Sam stood from his position and started walking towards the van, shooting wide to avoid his partner but praying he'd hit the men dragging his friend.

Callen was roughly lifted and shoved into the open door which was swiftly slid shut.

Deeks stood as well and started shooting at the closed door, hitting one of the arms dealers who was entering the passenger side door while the van screeched away.

Sam, Deeks, and now Kensi took off running towards the vehicle just as back up cruisers arrived. All three had their guns out and were shooting at the back of the van. They could hear Callen's struggles through the still activated comm set but the van was now out of range.

"His ear piece! Trash it!" The NCIS agents heard Narek shout from the van. They heard more brawling and grunts until Callen's voice sounded.

"I got this, just find me." The team leader mumbled, and that was the last thing they heard before the line went dead.

 **TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I'm SO sorry for the crazy delay in postings. I swear, your reviews to continue writing were the one thing I could not ignore so I dug deep and finally found a direction for this story again, and I'm so happy to be writing after such a long break! Thank you for the push, I NEEDED IT! – M. Rae**

" _His ear piece! Trash it!" The NCIS agents heard Narek shout from the van. They heard more brawling and grunts until Callen's voice sounded. "I got this, just find me." The team leader mumbled, and that was the last thing they heard before the line went dead._

"G! Status, can you hear me? … Callen!?" Sam shouted into his earpiece but knew he had just listened to the sound of the comm unit going offline.

"Son of a bitch, they're headed east down Revere street." Deeks voiced slowing his sprint to a jog and then stopping completely in the middle of the street.

"No! Damn it, how did that just happen?!" Sam shouted in frustration. He placed both hands over his head and rubbed his skin in anger.

"Callen's GPS just went offline, is he in that van?" Eric inquired anxiously through comms.

Nell looked over at Eric with worry, awaiting an answer. Hetty stood silently behind her tech agents waiting for some useful information about her surrogate son.

"Yes, they took Callen, trashed his earpiece and probably phone too…" Kensi responded as Sam interrupted her.

"Eric, start tracking the vehicle, 2-1-1… November..." He trailed off as he spoke. Sam had kicked furiously at the sand and froze when he saw several dark red stains across the sand's surface. It was pools of his partner's blood.

"You only got the partial plate? I need make and color Sam." Eric was furiously typing away at his desktop in search for their now kidnapped lead agent."

"Last three are November-bravo-4, black van, Ford make." Deeks finished the identification for his partner who seemed distracted, with good reason.

"Let's round back to the cars, come on!" Kensi shouted breaking them all out of their blankness. With that, the trio turned and ran back towards the pier.

x

"That was not a good idea." Callen warned. His arm was pulsing and leaking blood all over the back seat as the car made a screeching right.

"Shut up." A nameless arms dealer threatened, tightening the cuffs they had manhandled onto the agent's hands, pinning his arms painfully behind his back as soon as he was tossed into the van.

"What exactly is your plan here? You would've been better off _without_ a federal agent in your getaway vehicle…" Narek spun around in his seat and punched the NCIS agent in the face, cutting him off midsentence.

G's head snapped to the side as his bottom lip burst open. He didn't make a sound in response to the assault and turned a dark gaze back at Narek.

"Are you deaf? I said shut the hell up." Narek snapped.

Callen stared into the Armenian's eyes, turned his head and spit blood onto the car's interior floor. He then turned his face back towards the angered passenger and gave him a menacing glare. "Got it." G answered firmly, flashing his hallmark smirk.

Narek exhaled in irritation and then turned back to face the road.

Callen decided he would shut his mouth for the moment anyway and use the time to assess his own status.

 _Okay, let's just go top, down_ he thought. There was a thickness along the left side of his nose and he could feel pressure building underneath both his eyes. _Oh yeah, broken nose._

His head was pounding lightly but his vision was clear enough, there was nothing major there. _Probably a mild concussion._

Moving down, his back was aching, but he couldn't remember why. _Maybe it was the four tackles to the ground, and/or the wood rail that smashed apart, courtesy of my back. Whatever, it's just sore._

His arm was the real problem. Callen looked at the distorted flesh on his forearm first and was sure both bones were broken and displaced, it didn't take a doctor to figure that one out. He experimented moving his fingers gently to see if the arm could be at all helpful in this escape plan he had yet to come up with. But one simple curl of his index finger caused a sharp and breathtaking pain to shoot up his hand and through his elbow. He sucked in a breath quietly and shut his eyes in discomfort. _Okay, okay, it's useless._

After breathing and willing the dark edges of agony to clear from his periphery, G found the strength to open his eyes to glance down at his shoulder. There was one crimson hole that could be seen surrounded by bloodied and reddened flesh just under his clavicle, but no exit wound in sight. _Great._

He felt his heart pounding against his rib cage telling him his adrenaline was still pumping healthily through his body. _Good, I'm gonna use that shortly… once I figure out how to get out of this car that is._

"Davit, stop!" Narek's voice broke Callen out of his muse just as he saw the nose of a semi-truck blast into the right rear of the van, hurling it into the air. The impact was ear shattering filled with the warping groan of metal crushing metal and shattering glass. And then there was black silence.

Hetty stood silently watching her prized team work.

"Any leads yet?" Sam asked into comms. They were driving block by block towards the last known location of their team leader but the trail was getting cold, fast.

Nell's voice spoke up. "Sam, I think we got something. I'm getting reports of a car accident on the corner of Venice and McLaughlin Boulevard. It's likely Narek passed through there."

"Nice work guys, we're headed there now." Deeks responded and Sam sped off down Washington Boulevard, hoping to pick up the trail and finally catch up to his best friend.

"How long ago was the crash?" Kensi inquired, trying to figure out how far behind they were.

"A witness called it in at 11:34 am." Eric answered.

Sam tipped his head down at the car's console that read 11:37. He peeked at his watch ticking at 11:37:45, 46, 47. Three minutes isn't bad, he pressed on the gas pedal and planned to make it on scene in under two.

Deeks sat tensely in the back seat tapping his foot on the floor of the car. He had a towel he was using to wipe Callen's dried blood that had smudged onto his hands and arms. His clothes were soaked, but he didn't seem to notice, nor care.

Sam didn't even bother with the towel. His clothes were still saturated with the salt water and he could smell the copper scent of blood on his black shirt. He had to get to Callen, the gunshot wound on his shoulder had been leaking blood rapidly in the water and on the beach. The first worry was G passing out from low blood volume, but even worse would be Callen going into hypovolemic shock, which was a death sentence if not treated immediately.

The senior agent tore the wheel left and the black SUV skidded onto Venice Boulevard. "We're on Venice." Sam voiced. His adrenaline was picking up the closer he got to the scene. He was banking on someone giving him information on the van and racing off into whatever direction they indicated. Nell was working on the traffic cams, Eric on the dispatcher calls, they had a lead, finally, they would find him.

 _I got this, just find me._ Callen's voice echoed through his head. "I'm coming buddy." He whispered for his ears alone.

The trio approached the McLaughlin intersection, ready to secure the scene and take witness statements as fast as they could.

Smoke could be seen up above, along with small crowds of people, glass, and a crashed in semi-truck.

"God damn, this is a mess." Sam worded as the intersection came into full view.

"Shit, guys look." Deeks pointed towards the unfortunate vehicle that had been the victim of the semi-truck and there, on the sidewalk tipped on its side, was the black van their team leader was abducted in.

"Eric we're on scene, Narek's van was part of the crash, it was hit by a semi." Kensi stated grimly.

Nell turned frightened eyes to her coworker. Hetty bowed her head and turned away from the monitors in unease. _At least we found him._ She thought worriedly.

The trio clambered out of the SUV and ran towards the van.

"Federal Agents! Back away from the vehicle now." Kensi shouted, flashing her badge to the nearby witnesses inspecting the wreckage.

Deeks rounded the car first and saw the driver was collapsed inside the vehicle against the pavement and the broken through passenger side window. The junior agent reached a hand through the shattered front windshield to check the man's pulse and found none. "Driver's dead." He announced.

"Callen!" Sam shouted, rounding the underside of the black car wreck. He reached up and grasped the side of the tipped vehicle and hoisted himself up. Gripping next for the van's slide door, he yanked at the handle, effectively unlocking it, and slid it noisily open as it crashed to the edge with a searing bang. Sam peered into the sideways car and his heart sank.

"They're gone guys, must've fled the scene." The senior agent reported, both dread and relief filling his words at the fact that his friend was not a current occupant of the crushed up vehicle. "We need some eyewitness reports now."

Kensi turned around and looked towards the small group standing off to the side of the street. "Federal Agent." She flashed her badge as she approached the trio. "What happened here?" She inquired.

One woman jumped at the opportunity to share what she saw. "The light was red and the semi just blew right through it." She recalled the incident with animated hands. "Slammed right into that van. It flipped over and over until it got pinned up against the building." She pointed to the van Sam was currently scaling.

"Where did the occupants of the van go? Did any of them appear to be injured?" The agent pressed on quickly.

"All of them were injured." She stated brusquely. "They all exited the car in a hurry though."

"How many men were there?"

"Um, four." She continued. "When they started piling out of the car, that's when my daughter called 9-1-1. My son went over to try and help them but the men shouted at him to back away, so he did. They weren't speaking English."

Kensi nodded, listening intently for any detail that could help identify what happened to their team leader.

"There was one man that looked really bad, they-"

"Were any of them American?" Kensi interrupted.

"Uh, yes the one that was dragged out spoke English I think." The woman confirmed. "They dragged him out, pretty roughly." She made a face of horror. "He was covered in blood." She stated. Kensi paled.

"They were in a rush so they must've thought the car was going to explode or something. That's when we all backed up." The woman continued.

"Where did they go?" Kensi pressed. _I need a location._

"They went straight for a car on the street, broke in the window and drove off down Venice." She finished.

"How long ago was that?" Kensi asked.

"They drove right past you as you rode in." Kensi mentally kicked herself.

The junior agent spun around and strode back towards the car wreck. "Nell did you get all of that?"

"Yes, traffic cams picked up Narek leaving the scene East down Venice, I just tracked them to a side street but lost the trail. Hurry." The tech agent added.

The NCIS agents climbed back into the SUV as patrol vehicles drove in, understanding time was of the essence.

"East down Venice." Deeks repeated Nell's words, and Sam tore off down the street.

The three agents drove in silence, each working to control their breathing from the adrenaline presently pumping through their bodies at the seriousness of the situation. Things could go so wrong, and they all knew it. But that wasn't a pliable option right now, not while they were doing their damndest to save Callen by performing their jobs to the best of their abilities. They had to stay sharp.

"It's your next right." Nell's voice broke through the silence. Sam slowed slightly and made the turn. There was an abandoned car at the end of an alleyway with all four doors opened, an obvious red flag for the trained agents. The SUV came to a stop and the three piled out, guns out of their holsters and reflexes ready for anything. They approached with extreme caution and stealth, turning quickly to face the inside of the red car with their weapons active.

"Clear."

"Clear!"

"Clear." They all confirmed and they took in the wreckage of the scene. Blood lined the seats and floor of the abandoned sedan. There was dirt on the doors and behind the back of one of the seats, an obvious struggle had occurred. Deeks rounded to the fenced edge of the alleyway looking for a trail the occupants may have moved in.

"What have you got, Mr. Hanna?" Hetty's voice finally broke through comms.

The senior agent let out a frustrated exhalation and reported. "Vehicle's been fled, all four doors open in a hurry. We're securing the area and working on following a blood trail." He shook his head and turned his back away from the car. "But he's not here, Hetty." Sam concluded dreadfully.

x

Nearly thirty minutes later, forensics were on sight and the scene was being marked up. Nell and Eric continued to search through traffic cams and cell phone calls made around the area, but nothing had come of it yet. A half hour was too long to not have any leads on their team leader and the atmosphere amongst the NCIS team was meek at best.

Sam was walking along the fence with Deeks inspecting the blood trail once more, trying to get the image out of his head that this blood was likely his best friend's splashed across the asphalt.

His phone ringing broke him out of his stupor and he reached down and jammed his thumb into the screen, answering instinctively.

"Hanna." He answered blearily.

There was a bustling noise on the other line and the sound of labored breathing, but no voice spoke. Sam's eyes furrowed and his stomach dropped at the tension building through the silence. "Who is this?" He pressed turning his back away from the fence. Deeks looked up at Sam's response and sudden change in tone.

Another agonizing moment passed until finally, a familiar but pained voice broke through the speaker.

"Sam?" Callen whispered.

 **TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: I'm so sorry for the wait again guys! I kept getting writer's block and finally let loose last night and wrote nearly this whole chapter in less than two hours** **Also, I'm almost done with the next (and final) chapter (which is much shorter FYI) and will post ASAP. Thanks for your feedback and follows, each one truly makes my day. – M Rae**

 _Another agonizing moment passed until finally, a familiar but pained voice broke through the speaker._

" _Sam?" Callen's voice whispered._

"G! Where the hell are you? Are you okay?" Sam exhaled in obvious relief. The last thing he expected today was to get a _phone call_ from his best friend who had been kidnapped not even an hour ago. He waited another moment but his anxiety skyrocketed when he realized Callen still hadn't responded. The only thing he could hear was labored breathing on the other end of the line.

Deeks pressed into his comm, his eyes glued to Sam's back. "Nell, I think Sam's on the phone with Callen right now, can you trace the call?"

The tech agent scrambled alert and fumbled at the keyboard trying to get audio and immediately start a trace on the connection. Hetty's head had shot up and she was now hovering behind her two tech agents, waiting for the audio to come up. She allowed the slightest bit of hope to swell in her chest.

"G, can you hear me?" Sam pressed again, worry laced in his words. He pulled the phone away to check if he had lost the call but his stomach twisted gloomily when he saw the seamless connection ticking away on the screen. He pulled the phone back to his ear and resisted every urge to shout at his friend to give him a location, explain how he got away, to _say something_. His hand shook with adrenaline and anticipation, but he kept his mouth shut and waited.

"Sam." Callen finally mumbled back.

"Where are you Callen? How did you escape?" Sam pressed on finally. He turned around and circled his finger in the air to indicate to his two co-workers to round it up because they were leaving, _now_.

Deeks and Kensi wordlessly jogged to one of the SUVs with Sam already sitting in the driver's seat. Their comms suddenly came to life and Sam's call was broadcasted into all of their listening ears. The SUV pulled out onto the street leaving the forensics team alone with the tags, samples, and cameras lying in the bloodied alleyway.

"I didn't." They all heard G slur back suddenly, breaking them from their train of thoughts.

Hetty's heart dropped.

"What do you mean… are you alright?" Sam asked fearfully.

There was a pause. "D'nt know where'm." He deflected as he let a minute hiss slip out at the end of his words.

"Tell them what's in front of you." A thickly accented voice sounded in the distance.

Nell turned her eyes on Hetty who was stoically showing no signs of distress at the eerie command Callen was just given. So Callen had not escaped. There was an infinite amount of things that could be in front of their lead agent right now, but most options did not bode well for him or his fate.

G sighed. "Oh y' know…" He began tiredly, sarcasm creeping into his words.

"I see brick walls, cem'nt floor, dim lights… four assholes – humf!"

The impact of fist to flesh thudded through the phone and Sam's jaw locked in anger as he heard his friend grunt in pain. Kensi shut her eyes and looked away hearing G undoubtedly get punched in the face and not being able to do anything about it. Sam kept his hands painfully gripped to the steering wheel with his mouth clenched shut. He wanted nothing more than to scream at these assholes and rip them apart, but he knew letting his anger out would do nothing but endanger Callen more.

"Let's try this again, Agent." The accented voice appeared again, slightly closer to the speaker this time. "Tell your friend what is in front of you."

There was a spitting noise followed by the tousle of chains against some sort of metal surface.

"There's a timer." The team leader finally declared.

Kensi shot a panicked look at Deeks and immediately patched in Nell. "Any luck on the trace yet, Nell?"

The tech agent understood the haste at Kensi's request, she was listening in on the call as well and feared for Callen's fate just as much as the rest of them. "I know, I know. We're trying but nothing so far. They must have a jammer or something; the locations are just pinging off the towers."

"So Agent Hanna, what do you think we are timing here in front of your rapidly fading friend, hm? Do you think-"

"Quit playin' w'them. We d't negotiae' w' idiots…" Callen interrupted which was met instantly by another crushing punch to the face.

The Armenian clapped his hand roughly around the lead agent's cheeks and jerked Callen's slumped head up so they were facing eye to eye. Blood stained Callen's teeth but he didn't make a noise as he stared back into the man's face.

The accented voice was aimed away from the speaker and was slightly muffled. "Your friends don't have a lot of time left _Agent_. I suggest you shut up if you want to keep all of your teeth…" Callen huffed angrily when his face was roughly released by the Armenian's death grip. "Or your limbs for that matter." He finished menacingly.

Callen may have shuttered at the threat earlier in the day, but he was just too damn tired now. He had had it with these morons, his team needed more information to find him _and_ them.

"M' underground -c'n hear metro…" Callen suddenly blurted. A yell from an unknown person was heard in the background followed by a series of foreign shouts and a deafening clang of metal against a solid object. "No!" Callen shouted in pain but spoke again with desperation. "R'pd transit-" Callen roared in pain again, which was quickly followed by another blow, a grunt, and then nothing.

After a few seconds, the sound of a metal bar clanged to the ground some distance away and then a pair of rustling footsteps neared the speaker in the room.

"You have a choice to make now. Ignore the agent and chase us or…" More footsteps moved away from the speaker as another pair walked towards. "Come rescue your friend."

A new voice then spoke up, one they all recognized. "You have thirty six minutes." Narek chuckled and then footsteps echoed away from the speaker followed by a creaking bang of metal as a door was slammed shut. Then there was silence.

"G! You okay? G!" Sam all but shouted.

"Callen! Say something." Deeks chimed in. The NCIS agents waited in silence but Callen didn't speak.

"C'mon damnit, help us out, man." Sam pleaded, but there was still no answer.

"Agents, let us brainstorm the number of places Mr. Callen may be held up. Keep this line open just in case Callen awakens. Let's start with the purple and red Metro Rail lines within a thirty mile radius of the vehicle departure…" Hetty guided her frantic team.

 **x x x x**

The line was indeed kept open while the agents worked viciously trying to narrow down the possible locations Callen could be held. They were literally on the clock and the time was down to nineteen minutes.

Sam, Kensi, Deeks, Nell, and Eric kept up their constant mantra checking in to see if Callen had woken up, if he could hear them, to say something, _anything_. He hadn't answered since the Armenians had presumably left the room seventeen minutes ago though, but they kept trying regardless.

The team also kept up their search when finally, a faint noise broke the silence on the open end of the line.

"Ughh." The lead agent groaned as he came back to awareness.

"Callen? Can you hear us?"

"Kns?"

"Yes, we can all hear you, are you okay?"

"Uh- th'nk my face is brok'n."

"We're looking for you, we're gonna find you, okay? Is there anything else you can tell us about where you're being held?"

There was a pause, and then, "M' bleeding alov'r the floor."

Callen was obviously disoriented so Kensi switched tactics. "Okay, it's okay, just stay awake and keep talking."

"K… you g'ys find me y't?"

The broken, incoherent dialogue was kept up between Callen and at least one member of the team at a time, mostly Kensi and Nell uttering sweet nothings to keep Callen with them and conscious. However, only minutes after establishing contact, the conversation had shifted to a one sided plea by the two female agents urging the team leader to stay awake, but Callen stopped responding all together after only a few minutes. _We need to find him._

Once they had narrowed down the potential Metro lines the perps could be holding Callen, NCIS had ordered an evacuation of all red and purple line stops and entrances to the street to minimize casualties, just as a precaution. The evacuation itself did not take very long but their senior agent still had not been located and they only had eight minutes left on the clock.

Sam thundered his way through another service door at one of the underground red line stops and jogged down the skinny corridor. He glanced into every room and beat down the door if it was locked shut, only to glance in and find the rooms empty. _We're running out of time._

Sam rounded another hallway and slammed his foot through another locked door. He planned to continue his jog to the last door and then round back to the stairs, but when he glanced in to the dark space, he nearly cried in relief when his eyes met the limp, restrained form of his best friend.

"Callen!" He screamed as he bustled into the room.

"Sam you found him?" Nell piped in, hope lacing her words. "Where are you? We'll send some reinforcements your way."

Sam ran forward and dropped to his knees in front of his battered friend, fearing the worst. "G! Can you hear me?"

Callen groaned and rolled his head across his chest. He was obviously suffering the symptoms of massive blood loss and looked as if he would pass out at any moment again. His eyes did not open. Sam reached up and cupped his friend's chin in his hand, gently slapping him in an attempt to rouse him.

"Wha-?" He asked blearily, eyes fluttering.

"It's Sam, are you okay?" Callen didn't answer, so Sam quickly rounded to the back of the chair in order to free his friend from the metal restraints eating into the skin to get them the hell out of there, but Callen started to come around.

"N- no, cn't move…" Callen mumbled moving away from Sam, slightly panicked.

"I know, it's okay partner. You don't have to move. Just relax, I'll get you out." Sam reached for his friend's bloodied hands and began cutting at the restraints that were keeping Callen strapped to the chair. They had to get out of this room _now_ before the whole place blew.

"Wait n, cn't move, did smthn to ch-chair." Callen pulled his hands away from Sam's, breaking Sam's hold on the plastic digging into G's wrists.

"Hey, it's okay, just stay still, I'll get it." Sam tried to calm his rapidly panicking friend and reached for the plastic again only to be thwarted by Callen's boot slamming into the ground in challenge.

"Chk it-" Callen demanded as he let out a surprised yelp when his damaged arm was jostled, but he continued his struggles regardless.

Sam huffed in frustration. He knew he had to be patient with his friend but they just didn't have time. It was incomprehensible how G was even awake after the beating and the blood loss he had received, but a quick glance towards the red numbers showed a "3:00" flash across the display.

"I am checking it G, I can cut the plastic, just stay still damn it, we don't have time-"

"Ch'k chair, cn't m-move." Callen finally opened his eyes and crooned his head around to try and make eye contact with his partner who was behind him. The older agent looked up and met his pained friend's gaze. He saw pleading eyes beckoning him to listen. _Can't move, check chair._

"Your chair?" Sam's brow furrowed as he looked down, giving his partner a chance to explain.

Callen nodded weakly. "Bomb."

The senior agent thought again. "You're saying there's a bomb on the chair?" Another nod.

Swiftly, Sam knelt down to all fours to get a look at the underside of the chair. Right there, slithering across the entire bottom of the silver surface was a detonator with red, green, and blue wires snaking across the metal exterior. His friend was sitting on a bomb.

Sam activated his comm. "Guys, we have a problem, it's a dead man switch, if we off load the chair Callen's sitting on, the bomb blows-" He glanced at the timer in front of them. "And we're down to a minute, twenty." He added.

G let his eyes close in relief. His message had been delivered, his friend understood the problem. Callen let his body relax some and then let out a soft chuckle. _He was so close._

"But… cn't stay aw'ke…" Without warning, Callen slumped forward threatening to detonate the bomb as his body pitched down towards the ground, but Sam was there. He caught and gathered his battered friend up against his chest and placed one of his large hands against the side of his partner's face, effectively pinning Callen's head to Sam's shoulder. With his other free hand, he reached behind Callen's back and cut the plastic holding his partner's hands to the chair.

G let out a moan as his bloodied arm fell forward and bumped lightly into Sam's side.

"It's okay, I gotcha, we'll get this fixed up in no time." Sam gently gripped Callen's wrist and bent his arm up to stabilize it between Callen's chest and his own. G groaned in discomfort again but had no strength left to counter the move. His body was shaking and his breath was shallowing out.

"Sam, you and Callen need to get out of there _now._ Bomb squad is still three minutes out."

Sam sighed as he began to realize the predicament they were in now. Now that Callen was loose, if Sam let him go, the bomb would go off. He could restrain his friend again, but the chair still may flip over just from Callen's now dead weight. Help was too far away to relieve him of his job of holding his friend up, which left only one dreadful outcome. This was the end.

"M'ch time?" Callen slurred suddenly.

Sam glanced at the timer again, there was less than thirty seconds left before they would both blow to oblivion. He rested his chin on his partner's head and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Enough." He lied and pulled Callen in tighter to himself.

Hetty's voice spoke through comms now. "Mr. Hanna, you need to get the two of you out of that room. What's the hold up?"

Sam sighed and decided to share his fate with his frantic friends. "Can't, I'm the only thing keeping Callen from falling to the floor, if we move…" He didn't finish his thought, he knew his team understood what this meant, including a fading Callen.

"Sm, _go._ " Callen mumbled into his friend's chest. He attempted to push his friend away but his strength was near gone, so all he managed to do was slide his head to the top of Sam's shoulder and groan miserably. "Go… _please._ " He pleaded. He couldn't let his friend die because of him, one dead agent would be bad enough for their team, but two?

"G, this is my last job." The timer ticked to ten seconds. Distantly and a warped way, he was actually okay with this. They had had a good run together, it was only fitting that their partnership would come to an end on the job with one another by their sides.

"Oh God, Sam. We love you guys." Kensi suddenly sobbed through the speaker sitting in front of them.

"Someone had to show you what family was all about." Sam voiced into G's hair.

Callen's uninjured hand reached up and landed clumsily against Sam's bent up leg. He wrapped his fingers around the fabric and scrunched his grip ever so slightly without letting up. His breath hitched.

The little gesture meant worlds to Sam and he let a small smile creep across his face.

"Thk you, br'th'r." He slurred into Sam's chest as he let his hand fall back to the side of the chair. His consciousness then blacked to nothing as he passed out.

 **TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: WOW. You guys are the absolutely best! Thanks for sticking with me to the end on this one. I can't apologize enough for the delay between chapters. Every review and favorite makes me so incredibly happy that these musings in my head can entertain others as much as they entertain me. Thank you so much. – M Rae**

" _Thk you, br'th'r." He slurred into Sam's chest as he let his hand fall back to the side of the chair. His consciousness blacked to nothing as he passed out._

"Sam?" Deeks shakily voiced into comms.

Sam held G tightly against him for what felt like centuries. He had felt the moment his best friend passed out completely in his hold and was secretly thankful that Callen was out of pain for good. He didn't want him to be experiencing the fear he was feeling in these final moments.

Sam waited, but after several more moments past and the room remained silent, he felt like he had to know how much time they had left, so he cautiously cracked one eye open to find out.

The senior agent's heart leapt in his chest when he saw the red "0:02" on the screen and he instantly snapped his eyes shut. He waited for the hot flash of chemical bonds to ignite and explode against his skin as the air would undoubtedly boil and then suffocate them as they blew into a hundred pieces… but he waited, and waited, and nothing happened.

Callen squirmed slightly from underneath Sam's grip as the agent painfully regained awareness. "Sm?" he slurred through the haze and lifted his good arm up to hook gently onto the material against his partner's back.

Sam cracked his eyes open again to comfort his confused friend, but as his line of sight traced down to G's face, he saw the same "0:02" displayed on the timer.

He snapped his eyes back up and stared at it now to see if his mind was just playing with him. But when he felt Callen squirm and groan in his grasp again, he knew this was real time, it hadn't changed.

"It stopped." He said aloud, in complete disbelief.

"Wait, what? Repeat your last." Deeks asked through the open comm line, surprise obvious in his voice.

"Sam, did you just say the timer stopped?" Eric asked next, eagerly.

"Guys, it stopped, I don't know how, but the timer has two seconds on the clock, it just froze."

Sam shifted his gaze down to Callen's shoulder, suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to determine if his partner was still awake since they were apparently not blowing up at the moment anymore.

"G, hey, you with me? You okay? The timer stopped man, I can't believe it! Callen?" He gently shook the bleeding man in his arms.

"Oh my God, are you kidding me? You're sure." Kensi queried, clearly doubting her senior agent's news. _What were the chances?_

"Yes Kens, Callen's beat to hell though, we need the bomb squad down here too, I don't trust a damn timer. Just hurry, Callen-" Sam moved his attention to his partner again as he felt his body begin melting towards unconsciousness once more.

The lead agent groaned and shifted in his friend's grip. He mumbled something into Sam's shoulder that the older agent couldn't make out.

"What'd you say, G?" He asked as he pulled his friend away from his chest _slowly_. He was petrified the slightest of movements would set off the bomb because their luck just couldn't be this good. Callen's head slumped forward as his forehead landed on Sam's collarbone, but his voice was no longer blocked by the fabric of the larger agent's shirt.

"Alright, Deeks and I are headed to you now, I'll let you know about the bomb squad, Hetty?"

"I am contacting them now, Ms. Blye, standby."

"We still-" Callen's voice finally spoke up but was quickly cut off by a set of weak coughs. He grimaced and settled again before continuing. "Still gn'a expl'de?"

"No, man. I don't know how, but the timer stopped, it's frozen at two." Sam took a moment to assess the bloodied gash he had just spotted along G's hairline and prodded at the edges. He then looked down to the floor and saw the likely weapon of cause: it was a crow bar discarded on the ground a few feet away. Sam's jaw tightened in fury.

Callen kept silent for a few moments, then finally spoke up. "Hm, gue's I'got it r'ght." He slurred tiredly. He allowed his hallmark smirk to spread across his face next with his eyes remaining closed due to the exhaustion and the blood loss.

"What? I don't get it, got what right?" Sam inquired, readjusting his grip and slowly switching which knee he was kneeling on in front of Callen. The concrete floor had made the leg all but numb.

"Hail mar'ied it." Callen shrugged in the same moment. His forehead furrowed into tight lines of pain suddenly.

"Sam, we're headed your way, be there in two minutes. Bomb squad is coming too to check out the chair, just sit tight." Deeks stated.

"Copy, Deeks, we're not going anywhere–"

Without warning, Callen let out a cry of pain as his body stiffened like a board, and then just as quickly, he began deflating into nothingness.

"Woah, easy man, what's wrong? G? I need you to stay awake." The older agent tried to support his friend better who was slumping almost lifelessly against him, but the manhandling only tore another pained moan from Callen's lips.

"S'm, stop." He strained out between panted breaths and tightly closed lids.

"I'm sorry, just talk to me, I don't know what's wrong." Sam all but pleaded, feeling helpless for his friend.

"M'arm, let… go…"

Sam sighed in frustration finally realizing his shifting was jostling his battered friend's arm. "Okay, I hear you. Just hang on, we gotta wait for Deeks and Kensi. I won't move you again but it needs to stay here for now."

The older agent exhaled sharply and then peered down to the floor to see if there was something he could splint the arm with, at least temporarily. But as soon as he looked down, he spotted a small puddle of blood forming beneath the rigged chair and Callen's feet which caused his heart to drop instantly. "Shit."

"Sam, what is it?" Nell voiced immediately in response.

"Guys, we're gonna need EMT's down here, Callen's bleeding bad."

"Can't until the bomb threat is neutralized." Deeks huffed back as he sprinted across the street, his eyes locked on the distant subway entrance that would lead him to his two senior agents.

Sam exhaled again, completely frustrated now and moments away from pure panic.

"Where's he bleeding from?" Kensi breathlessly inquired who was hot on her boyfriend's heels. The question helped Sam focus back in on the present rather than all the potential outcomes that could unfold, however.

He looked down at Callen and began to assess. "I can't tell, definitely his arm… I just can't see." He sounded defeated.

The senior agent switched gears. He knew how important it was going to be to keep Callen conscious for as long as possible, mainly for the purpose of monitoring his head injury symptoms. He also needed a distraction from his growing panic building up in his chest and psyche.

"Alright buddy, let's do some triage here. You ready? Listen up." Sam ordered, jostling his friend when he felt him slump lower in his grip.

The rest of the team listened intently now, itching to know the status of their colleague.

Callen groaned in protest.

 _I'll take that as a yes_. Sam approved and quickly proceeded.

"You breathing okay?"

Callen moaned unhelpfully.

"G, yes or no, you know how this goes." Sam pressed as gently as he could.

Callen moaned again and then murmured a 'ya' into his partner's shoulder.

"Okay, anything numb?"

"Ya." Callen answered which prompted a sigh of frustration from Sam.

"Where, G?" The older agent pressed again.

Callen took a few moments to answer and then finally mumbled out a response. "Y'said y's r'no."

"You're impossible, you know that?" Sam couldn't help but roll his eyes at his partner's tenacious comment. _At least he was listening to the directions_.

"Are your legs numb?" Sam specified hesitantly, going straight for the question he really needed an answer to. He waited, fearful of the potential response.

"Leg kills." Callen stated, subconsciously reaching down to grip the top of his left shin. _Wow, thanks for reminding me._

Sam glanced down and saw a small tear in the pant leg, but the room was too dark to make anything out concretely. "Which one? This one?" He patted at the material along the shin in search for any break in the fabric or bone sticking out and then repeated the process on the other leg. He felt nothing out of the ordinary but he just wasn't sure. "G?"

A groan was the only response.

"Where do you feel numb?" Sam's heart was pounding in his chest. _So was he paralyzed? Pain was good, right?_

"'S m'hand… can't feel m'fngrs." He finally specified.

Sam sighed in relief. "Alright." He nodded, mentally logging each of his partner's answers to best help the EMTs once they arrived. "Alright, what about your head, can you see straight?"

G blinked sluggishly as he looked into the haze of blurry shapes behind Sam, it was the same fuzzy landscape he'd been seeing since the car crash.

"No." He answered.

Sam nodded sharply. _Okay, so far, not so good._ "Do you feel sick?" He continued.

But Callen didn't answer which prompted the older agent to shake his friend alert. G groaned again as his arm was jostled in its pinned position against Sam's front.

"G, stay with me, stay awake. Do you feel nauseous?" Sam tried to hurry up his questions in fear of G losing consciousness again.

"Yes." He finally whispered out, completely exhausted.

"Where else are you hurting?" He asked hastily.

Again, Callen was silent, as if he hadn't heard the question and Sam almost screamed in terror and frustration.

"G!" He shouted fearfully.

After a few more moments of silence, Callen finally spoke up. "… dn't knw… how much lng'r-"

"No, no, no, hey, stay with me–"

"Sam! You tell him to hang on, you hear? We are almost there, help is coming." Kensi panted into comms, overwhelmed with the rollercoaster of emotions she was experiencing.

Deeks and Kensi sprinted down the subway steps and slammed through the metal utility door headed straight for Sam and Callen.

"Sam!" Kensi's distant voice echoed through the narrow underground hallway and the older agent nearly wept in relief. _Finally._

"Callen, come on!" Sam shouted at his friend, loud enough for the duo to zero in on the empty storage room they were currently occupying.

The junior agents tightly rounded the corner into the room and ran straight towards Sam as soon as they saw him.

"Oh thank God, Callen." Kensi exhaled finally seeing him in person since the shooting at the pier.

"Hey, Callen, you're gonna be okay." Deeks encouraged moving in next to Sam as he half kneeled on the floor.

Deeks clamped his hand onto Callen's good arm and felt how cold his skin was. _Step one of preventing shock, keep the patient warm._

"He's freezing." Deeks instantly pulled his shoulders back behind him and slipped his jacket off his arms. He whipped the material around to his front and covered as much of Callen's torso as he could with the leathered jacket.

"Check his shoulder and see if that's where this bleeding is coming from, he said his leg hurt and his head, you need to put pressure on it..." Sam ranted.

"I got it." Kensi instantly unhooked and slipped her belt off in one motion moving in towards Callen's shoulder. She immediately spotted the bleeding wound and situated the loop as high up on his arm as possible. She then pulled out her flashlight to get a better view of the damage and placed the small light between her teeth to free up her hands.

She located the gunshot wound and made sure the belt was proximal to the puncture spot, then instantly tightened the loop she created snug against Callen's skin as he let out a yelp of surprise.

"It's okay Callen." She voiced in sympathy.

"Where's the bomb squad? We need to lie him down, he's definitely going into shock." Sam said with as much patience as he could muster. _Now's not the time to freak out Hanna, keep it together._

"Agent Deeks? Agent Blye?" A voice echoed down the corridor followed by several pairs of footsteps.

"In here!" They both shouted back, simultaneously.

Four men entered a moment later wearing heavy gear and holding bags presumably full of equipment that would allow them all to _get the hell out of this tiny room_.

Sam pulled his partner away from his chest slowly again as soon as he saw the bomb squad begin filing into the room.

"G, hey look at me." He gently tapped the side of Callen's bleeding and clammy face and watched breathlessly as his partners eyes fluttered and then opened to meer slits.

"There you are, keep your eyes on me, G. Bomb squad's here, you ready to go home?"

Callen's eyes shook from strain and then fell shut as he huffed out a breath of relief. Or was it pain? Exhaustion? Maybe a little of everything.

"Hey what did I just say, look here, man." He voiced desperately.

Callen groaned for a second and then mumbled back. "Eyes… you…" He physically forced his lids to lift again only to stare back at a blurry Sam.

"Agent Hanna, move aside for a moment." One of the bomb specialists ordered suddenly.

Sam's protective instincts kicked up abruptly, even though he knew the man was no threat and meant no harm to his partner.

"He's gonna fall over if I move, what are you trying to look at?" He snapped back, and it came out a little more potent than he intended.

The bomb tech seemed to understand though, seeing the blood that was covering the senior agent's dark arms and the panic within his eyes. He also could see what bad shape Callen was in.

"You don't have to let go of him, just slide back a little so I can see the front of the chair if you can." He explained patiently.

Sam instantly obliged, feeling bad for snapping at the man who was just trying to help. He moved his chest away from G's front slowly but allowed Callen's chin to stay rested over his shoulder.

Unfortunately, Sam forgot that his body was acting as an immobilizer for Callen's warped and bloodied arm so as soon as he lost contact with Callen's front, the arm slid down to G's lap which ripped a cry of pain out from Callen's throat.

"Oh shit, his arm, Deeks!" Sam scrunched his eyes shut in sympathy at his mistake, just as Deeks scooped up Callen's forearm and held it as still as possible between his own hands.

The bomb tech moved forward quickly and seemed satisfied with his inspection after only thirty seconds or so. He hastily moved out from between the agents and their team leader allowing them to huddle in towards him and give him the support his body desperately needed.

Callen was panting now and his eyes had slid shut again against the pain the switch in positions continued to cause him.

Kensi had make-shifted a dressing for the gunshot wound and was just now finishing securing it to the bleeding injury.

"Sam, you said something about his leg, right?" She inquired next as she rounded to the front of the chair just as two bomb specialists moved to the back, inspecting the wiring and the timer now.

"Yeah he just said it hurt." He supplied the small amount of information Callen was able to mumble out a few minutes ago.

Kensi kneeled down as Sam and Deeks shifted outwards to allow her access to Callen's legs. She placed the flashlight between her teeth again and slid his jean pant leg up to inspect the right shin. Apart from a small cut that had already clotted, she found nothing out of the ordinary.

She moved onto his left shin sliding the material up and instantly saw a pool of blood collecting in his boot. There were several lines of blood trailing down the shin as well. She tried to slide the jean leg up farther but it became lodged onto something she could not see.

G sucked in a breath of pain but did not rouse enough to protest whatever was going on down by his legs.

"Deeks, hand me your knife." She requested quickly. Deeks' hands were literally full of Callen's warped forearm so he shifted his hip towards her. "Left back pocket."

Kensi reached in and slipped the knife out, snapping the blade open and cutting a line in the fabric up towards Callen's knee.

The problem was instantly identified once the jean material was separated and there, buried deep within Callen's outer shin was a piece of metal. The cut continued to ooze blood down towards the floor.

"There's a piece of shrapnel in his shin, I need to tie it off, it's still bleeding pretty bad." She reported. She decided to cut a piece of Callen's jean material off and use that as a dressing. As soon as the material was cut away, she wrapped the piece around the back of his calf and then looped the free ends loosely in the front, ready to pull the ends tight and start the clotting process.

"Ready?" She voiced aloud, really just preparing herself for the pain she was about to cause her already fading mentor.

Without a second thought, she yanked the ends tight right against the shrapnel piece wincing as Callen reacted instantly.

He shouted out and then whimpered miserably as pain exploded from yet another spot on his body. After a moment more of agony, he decided that consciousness was overrated and began to fade into the blissful blackness. _I really hope I see you guys again._

"No you don't." Sam slapped Callen's cheek to rouse him before he could drift off completely. "No sleeping, not until the EMTs get here." _Oh come on, I was so close._

Deeks looked at the bomb techs and finally interrupted their work to ask how much longer this was going to take.

"We're just trying to make sense of something. It looks like someone tried to dismantle it."

The three agents snapped looks of confusion at each other.

The bomb tech spoke up again. "Someone definitely dismantled it. There was one line to the power panel out of the bundle, it looks like it was ripped right out, obviously just in time. Two seconds on the clock is ridiculously close."

The whole room seemed to sigh a breath of relief.

Deeks stared at Sam. "Sam. Did you try to diffuse it?"

"It wasn't me." He looked down at his nearly lifeless friend. "It must have been Callen." Sam said in complete disbelief and awe.

He then shot his head up to the bomb tech who had just reported. "So we're good? We can move?" Sam needed a confirmation, he wasn't going to kill everybody in the room just for being too hasty.

"It's disarmed, you can get up." He confirmed.

"The bomb is no longer active, I repeat, the bomb has been defused. Get the EMT's down here _now_." Kensi instantly voiced into comms.

Callen heard the last mumbles stated by Kensi and felt strong hands all over his body. But the confirmation that the bomb had been deactivated was the last thing he was waiting to hear. He chose that moment to allow the blackness to completely consume him. Everyone had made it out alive, hopefully he did too. _Sorry guys._

* * *

 _Okay ow._

That was Callen's first thought as he climbed through the blackness and fogginess within his head and opened his eyes to reveal a dimly lit hospital room. _Holy shit I lived. Ha!_

He shifted his foot slightly to test out his muscles, _which felt like a piece of lead by the way,_ but that small movement instantly ignited all the pains in his leg, arm, head, and chest, all at once.

He gasped weakly in agony. _On second thought, living is overrated._

He froze all his movement attempts and chose to take a moment and re-evaluate himself, and his impulsive choices.

He worked to calm himself as he took some controlled breaths and worked to steady his spiking heart rate. After an unknown amount of time passed, Callen began to notice a warm heaviness on his forearm. _What is that?_

He pried his eyelids open to see _(a much clearer version)_ of a slumped over Sam Hanna, his thumb was scrolling through his phone held inches away from his face illuminating his facial features while the other free hand was gripped onto G's forearm.

G studied his partner for a moment. Sam's jaw was locked tight and his brow was furrowed into concentration. Or maybe it was anger? Worry? He wasn't sure, but he definitely didn't look happy.

"You look upset." Callen rasped out between dried lips.

Sam's head snapped up to G's face and he locked his phone, dropping it on the sheet below him instantly.

"Finally, you're awake, you've been out for almost two days." He stated with both exacerbation and exhaustion as he slid closer towards the bed and Callen's face.

Callen tried to move his forearm that was being held by Sam's big hand but there was no strength in the limb.

"Why can't I move?" He inquired quietly, slightly frustrated and verging on the edge of panic.

Sam exhaled and moved even closer, he looked incredibly stressed. "You went into shock you idiot. Your heart stopped as soon as they got you out of the ambulance."

 _Oh that bad huh…_ "That explains why I feel like someone's sitting on my chest." He winced out.

"You went through three surgeries in the last forty-eight hours, your body's probably dead tired, just be patient, the doctors said you should recover fully."

"What's the damage?" He finally asked after a few moments of pure breathing. The two second conversation was already wearing him out. Unconsciousness tugged at his eyelids.

Sam nodded and reported. "They said you lost almost half you blood volume between the field and the first surgery. Your blood pressure was so low they didn't think they could keep up with it, even with the blood transfusions."

The older agent didn't let go of his grip on Callen's good forearm as he spoke.

"What about my arm?"

Sam shook his head. "Somehow, the nerve damage from the break was reversed, you have some damn good surgeons, bullet came out pretty smoothly from what they said too. You should be fine after a ton of PT for your hand."

Callen scoffed, he hated PT, the process was so _slow_ , but it did get him back on his feet after his drive by shooting years ago. He'd get through it.

"You had a piece of shrapnel in your shin and a piece around your knee cap too, probably from the car crash. Those were removed without any issues too."

Sam let a gentle grin spread across his mouth. "Your head was the biggest problem." There were so many insults he could use against his downed friend right now. _Later._

"You had a severe concussion and a small brain bleed. The docs didn't want to operate unless they had to so they kept you in an induced coma for twenty four hours and just waited to see if it got worse. Longest fricken day of my life."

Sam inhaled deeply before continuing. "Obviously the swelling in your brain dissipated and reversed itself with the meds they were giving you, so it didn't come down to that, thank God."

Callen just laid there, looking at his friend through half closed eyelids and took in the status report.

"Your face is broken too but they said that will just heal on its own, you look like a plum." Sam grinned again and Callen huffed in amusement. His face did feel pretty swollen.

"The only other thing was some internal bleeding, from the crash maybe. They were able to stop that with an arthroscopic procedure though, no crazy scars to add to the collection."

Sam took another breath and looked down at his slightly shaking hands.

G finally spoke up. "Wow, is that all?"

Sam snapped his gaze to Callen's face and glared at him, suddenly serious.

"You scared the shit out of me, G." He scolded.

Callen sighed, he could only imagine how worried his friend must have been.

"I didn't try to get kidnapped, Sam." He defended, his voice still sounding like sandpaper.

Sam deflated some. "I know, I know. You have the worst luck though, _literally_ in the world, G. And apparently also the strongest will to live. The doctors can't believe you pulled through."

Callen's eyes drifted closed in exhaustion but he fought to open them again and gain more information on the men that did this.

"Get some rest." Sam urged.

Callen stubbornly ignored him. "What about Narek?"

Sam didn't answer.

 _Okay, switch tactics._ "You been here the whole time?"

Sam responded to that one. "I'm not going anywhere, Hetty gave me a week off just to keep an eye on you and make sure you didn't bother any of the nice doctors."

"Oh Jesus." Callen groaned.

Sam's eyes suddenly enlarged and his demeanor changed in an instant.

G looked at him quizzically.

"How in the hell did you know to pull the green wire? I thought we were goners, how'd you do it?"

 _Yikes, and now would be a good time to pass out._

Callen chuckled weakly. Sam's face switched to a look of horror and anticipation. "G…"

"I guessed."

Sam's face turned beat red.

"You _guessed?_ Oh my God, you freakin guessed, and to think I thought you were some kind of McGyver genius, you lucky bastard, we almost died!"

"Would you prefer to be in tiny pieces instead?" Callen whispered as his eyes closed.

Sam was beside himself. "I can't believe you just _grabbed_ a wire and pulled on it…"

"…it was a good guess." Callen mumbled over Sam's protests.

"There were five wires and the angle you must've had to pull them apart to even just grasp the one in your fingers away from the bundle was impossible in itself, I can't believe…"

But Sam's voice faded out as his body happily succumbed to the blackness of oblivion, he'd deal with the aftermath of this one later. The big guy would forgive him, he always did.

 **END**


End file.
